One of the effective ways you can foster healthy aging is to use yoga to support your immune system. An immune system that is functioning well prevents illness and promotes healing, by fighting off common infections, healing wounds, and scavenging early cancer molecules. You can also use yoga to complement western medical treatments for a wide range of illnesses, including:
• flu and other common infections
• rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis
• conditions that can affect your immune system indirectly, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer recovery, and many other
For those with immune system disorders, such as HIV/AIDS and adrenal insufficiency, you can boost immune system functioning while also fostering your physical and emotional wellbeing.
Cancer patients who practice yoga as therapy during their treatment often refer to their yoga practice as a life-saver. The healing power of yoga helps both cancer patients and cancer survivors. No matter how sick from treatments and no matter how little energy, many find that the one thing that would bring relief were a gentle set of therapeutic yoga poses geared for cancer patients.
When battling cancer, the worst part is not just the symptoms of the disease itself, but often the discomfort and debilitating fatigue brought on from cancer treatments. Whether faced with the scar-tissue of surgery or ongoing nausea and weakness from chemotherapy or radiation, cancer patients endure a long road of physical trials.
But as many cancer patients and cancer survivors are discovering, there are ways to strengthen their bodies and deal with the uncomfortable side-effects of treatment, both during and after treatment. As the interest in more holistic approaches to healing is growing, yoga therapy for cancer patients and cancer survivors is emerging as one of the more successful methods for combating the physical discomfort of cancer and cancer treatment.
Classes Overview
IMMUNE SYSTEM
Whether you’re stomping through the showers in your bare feet after gym class or touching the bathroom doorknob, you’re being exposed to germs. Fortunately for most of us, the immune system is constantly on call to do battle with bugs that could put us out of commission.
The immune (pronounced: ih-myoon) system, which is made up of special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. In most cases, the immune system does a great job of keeping people healthy and preventing infections. But sometimes problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection.
What Is the Immune System and What Does It Do?
The immune system is the body’s defense against infectious organisms and other invaders. Through a series of steps called the immune response, the immune system attacks organisms and substances that invade our systems and cause disease. The immune system is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body. The cells that are part of this defense system are white blood cells or leukocytes (pronounced: loo-kuh-sytes). They come in two basic types (more on these below), which combine to seek out and destroy the organisms or substances that cause disease.
Leukocytes are produced or stored in many locations throughout the body, including the thymus, spleen, and bone marrow. For this reason, they are called the lymphoid (pronounced: lim-foyd) organs. There are also clumps of lymphoid tissue throughout the body, primarily in the form of lymph nodes that house the leukocytes.
The leukocytes circulate through the body between the organs and nodes by means of the lymphatic (pronounced: lim-fah-tik) vessels. (You can think of the lymphatic vessels as a type of highway between the rest stops that are the lymphoid organs and lymph nodes). Leukocytes can also circulate through the blood vessels. In this way, the immune system works in a coordinated manner to monitor the body for substances that might cause problems.
There are two basic types of leukocytes:
• The phagocytes (pronounced: fah-guh-sytes) are cells that chew up invading organisms.
• The lymphocytes (pronounced: lim-fuh-sytes) are cells that allow the body to remember and recognize previous invaders.
There are a number of different cells that are considered phagocytes. The most common type is the neutrophil (pronounced: noo-truh-fil). Neutrophils primarily fight bacteria. So when doctors are worried about a bacterial infection, sometimes they order a blood test to see if a patient has an increased number of neutrophils triggered by the infection. Other types of phagocytes have their own jobs to make sure that the body responds appropriately to a specific type of invader.
There are two kinds of lymphocytes: the B lymphocytes and the T lymphocytes. Lymphocytes start out in the bone marrow and either stay and mature there to become B cells or leave for the thymus gland, where they mature lymphocytes are like the body’s military intelligence system, seeking out their targets and sending defenses to lock onto them. T cells are like the soldiers, destroying the invaders that the intelligence system has identified. Here’s how it works.
A foreign substance that invades the body is called an antigen (pronounced: an tih-jun). When an antigen is detected, several types of cells work together to recognize and respond to it. These cells trigger the B lymphocytes to produce antibodies (pronounced: an-tye-bah-deez). Antibodies are specialized proteins that lock onto specific antigens. Antibodies and antigens fit together like a key and a lock.
Once the B lymphocytes have produced antibodies, these antibodies continue to exist in a person’s body. That means if the same antigen is presented to the immune system again, the antibodies are already there to do their job. That’s why if someone gets sick with a certain disease, like chickenpox, that person typically doesn’t get sick from it again. This is also why we use immunizations to prevent certain diseases. The immunization introduces the body to the antigen in a way that doesn’t make a person sick, but it does allow the body to produce antibodies
that will then protect that person from future attack by the germ or substance that produces that particular disease. Although antibodies can recognize an antigen and lock onto it, they are not capable of destroying it without help. That is the job of the T cells. The T cells are part of the system that destroys antigens that have been tagged by antibodies or cells that have been infected or somehow changed. (There are actually T cells that are called “killer cells”). T cells are also involved in helping signal other cells (like phagocytes) to do their jobs. Antibodies can also neutralize toxins (poisonous or damaging substances) produced by different organisms. Lastly, antibodies can activate a group of proteins called complement that are also part of the immune system. Complement assists in killing bacteria, viruses, or infected cells. All of these specialized cells and parts of the immune system offer the body protection against disease. This protection is called immunity. Humans have three types of immunity – innate, adaptive, and passive.
Innate Immunity: Everyone is born with innate (or natural) immunity, a type of general protection that humans have. Many of the germs that affect other species don’t harm us. For example, the viruses that cause leukemia in cats or distemper in dogs don’t affect humans. Innate immunity works both ways because some viruses that make humans ill – such as the virus that causes HIV/AIDS – don’t make cats or dogs sick either. Innate immunity also includes the external barriers of the body, like the skin and mucous membranes (like those that line the nose,
throat, and gastrointestinal tract), which are our first line of defense in preventing diseases from entering the body. If this outer defensive wall is broken (like if you get a cut), the skin attempts to heal the break quickly and special immune cells on the skin attack invading germs.
Adaptive Immunity: We also have a second kind of protection called adaptive (or active) immunity. This type of immunity develops throughout our lives. Adaptive immunity involves the lymphocytes (as in the process described above) and develops as children and adults are exposed to diseases or immunized against diseases through vaccination.
Passive Immunity: Passive immunity is “borrowed” from another source and it lasts for a short time. For example, antibodies in a mother’s breast milk provide an infant with temporary immunity to diseases that the mother has been exposed to. This can help protect the infant against infection during the early years of childhood.
Everyone’s immune system is different. Some people never seem to get infections, whereas others seem to be sick all the time. As a person gets older, he or she usually becomes immune to more germs as the immune system comes into contact with more and more of them. That’s why adults and teens tend to get fewer colds than children – their bodies have learned to recognize and immediately attack many of the viruses that cause colds.
Things That Can Go Wrong With the Immune System
Disorders of the immune system can be broken down into four main categories:
• immunodeficiency disorders (primary or acquired)
• autoimmune disorders (in which the body’s own immune system attacks its
own tissue as foreign matter)
• allergic disorders (in which the immune system overreacts in response to an
antigen)
• cancers of the immune system
Immunodeficiency Disorders
Immunodeficiencies (pronounced: ih-myoon-o-dih-fih-shun-seez) occur when a part of the immune system is not present or is not working properly. Sometimes a person is born with an immunodeficiency – these are called primary immunodeficiencies. (Although primary immunodeficiencies are conditions that a person is born with, symptoms of the disorder sometimes may not show up until later in life.) Immunodeficiencies can also be acquired through infection or produced by drugs. These are sometimes called secondary immunodeficiencies. Immunodeficiencies can affect B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, or phagocytes. An example of the most common immunodeficiency disorder is IgA deficiency. IgA is an immunoglobulin that is found primarily in the saliva and other body fluids that help guard the entrances to the body. IgA deficiency is a disorder in which the body doesn’t produce enough of the antibody IgA. People with IgA deficiency tend to have allergies or get more colds and other respiratory infections, but the condition is usually not severe.
Acquired immunodeficiencies usually develop after a person has a disease, although they can also be the result of malnutrition, burns, or other medical problems. Certain medicines also can cause problems with the functioning of the immune system. Some examples of secondary immunodeficiencies:
• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). This disease slowly and steadily destroys the immune system. It is caused by HIV, a virus which wipes out certain types of lymphocytes called T-helper cells. Without T-helper cells, the immune system is unable to defend the body against normally harmless organisms, which can cause life-threatening infections in people who have AIDS. Newborns can get HIV infection from their mothers while in the uterus, during the birth process, or during breastfeeding. Teens and adults can get HIV infection by having unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person or from sharing contaminated needles for drugs, steroids, or tattoos.
• Immunodeficiencies caused by medications.
There are several medicines that suppress the immune system. One of the drawbacks of
chemotherapy treatment for cancer, for example, is that it not only attacks cancer cells, but other fast-growing, healthy cells, including those found in the bone marrow and other parts of the immune system. In addition, people with autoimmune disorders or who have had organ transplants may need to take immunosuppressant medications. These medicines can also reduce the immune system’s ability to fight infections and can cause secondary immunodeficiency.
Autoimmune Disorders
In autoimmune disorders, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy organs and tissues as though they were foreign invaders. Some examples of autoimmune diseases:
• Lupus is a chronic disease marked by muscle and joint pain and inflammation. The abnormal immune response may also involve attacks on the kidneys and other organs.
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the body’s immune system acts as though certain body parts such as the joints of the knee, hand, and foot are foreign tissue and attacks them.
• Scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune disease that can lead to inflammation and damage of the skin, joints, and internal organs.
• Ankylosing spondylitis is a disease that involves inflammation of the spine and joints, causing stiffness and pain.
• Juvenile dermatomyositis is a disorder marked by inflammation and
damage of the skin and muscles.
Allergic Disorders
Allergic disorders occur when the immune system overreacts to exposure to antigens in the environment. The substances that provoke such attacks are called allergens. The immune response can cause symptoms such as swelling, watery eyes, and sneezing, and even a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis.
Taking medications called antihistamines can relieve most symptoms. Some examples of allergic disorders:
• Asthma, a respiratory disorder that can cause breathing problems, frequently involves an allergic response by the lungs. If the lungs are oversensitive to certain allergens (like pollen, molds, animal dander, or dust mites), it can trigger breathing tubes in the lungs to become narrowed, leading to reduced airflow and making it hard for a teen to breathe.
• Eczema is a scaly, itchy rash also known as atopic dermatitis. Although atopic dermatitis is not necessarily caused by an allergic reaction, it more often occurs in kids and teens who have allergies, hay fever, or asthma or who have a family history of these conditions.
• Allergies of several types can occur in teens. Environmental allergies (to dust mites, for example), seasonal allergies (such as hay fever), drug allergies (reactions to specific medications or drugs), food allergies (such as to nuts), and allergies to toxins (bee stings, for example) are the common conditions people usually refer to as allergies.
Cancers of the Immune System
Cancer occurs when cells grow out of control. This can also happen with the cells of the immune system. Lymphoma involves the lymphoid tissues and is one of the more common childhood cancers. Leukemia, which involves abnormal overgrowth of leukocytes, is the most common childhood cancer. With current medications most cases of both types of cancer in kids and teens are curable. Although immune system disorders usually can’t be prevented, you can help your immune system stay strong and fight illnesses by staying informed about your condition and working closely with the doctor. And if you’re lucky enough to be healthy, you can help your immune system keep you that way by washing your healthy, you can help your immune system keep you that way by washing your hands often to avoid infection, eating right, getting plenty of exercise, and getting regular medical checkup
Classes Lesson
We use resrorative yoga and kriya yoga techniques with some application of Antar Mauna and relaxation techniques.
- BEGINNER
FROM 1ST-10TH OF THE MONTH
1. Easy Pose with a Palm Press. Technique: Sit on the floor with your legs crossed at the ankles. …
2. Spinal Flex (Seated Cat-cow) …
3. Butterfly Pose. …
4. Modified Bridge Pose. …
5. Posture: Savansana.
- REGULAR YOGI
FROM 11th to 20th OF THE MONTH
1. Half Sun Salutation:
2. Reclining Butterfly Pose:
3. Legs Up The Wall:
4. Cat-Cow Pose:
5. Corpse Pose:
Yoga Nidra n pawan mukta asana series 1,2,3 based on the condition. We practice breath awareness and prana vidyameditation.
- COMMITTED YOGI
FROM 21st TO 30th OF THE MONTH
We try head stand supported. We do abdominal breathing ujjai and alternate mostril breathing.
What You Get From This Classes
Exercise
Using your active asana practice for exercise promotes your overall health, keeping your body strong and flexible, and by helping your cardiovascular system, digestive system, and respiratory systems to function optimally. By improving your balance and agility, your asana practice prevents injuries that result from falling, and which weaken your immune system.
You can also improve your immune system’s lymphatic circulation with your asana practice. Practicing dynamic poses and flow sequences, where you move in and out of poses with your breath, naturally pumps your muscles, improving the flow of the lymphatic fluids through your body. Although not as effective as moving dynamically, you can even use your static poses to improve lymphatic circulation by rhythmically contracting and relaxing as many muscle groups as possible.
Over exercising can increase inflammation, but gradually introducing appropriate amounts of exercise can be very beneficial, reducing the inflammation and improving overall immune system function. So if you’re suffering from an inflammatory condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis, be carefully to ease gradually into the active asana practice, starting with the most gentle practices.
Stress Management
Because chronic stress weakens your immune system, using yoga’s stress management techniques to keep stress levels in check helps keep your immune system strong. And because your immune system works most efficiently when you’re in Rest and Digest state, spending as much time as possible in state will bolster your immune system, whether you are healthy or ill.
Recent research also indicates yoga’s stress management tools lower stress hormones and other pro-inflammatory molecules in our bodies, so yoga also helps with chronic inflammation, which can be caused by aging. Even newer studies suggest that yoga may turn on beneficial genes in some of our white blood cells, which may ultimately improve our overall immune function.
Yoga’s stress management tools can also help reduce stress eating and other unhealthy stress-related behaviors that negatively impact the immune system. While we can’t say that any of the stress management techniques are better than others, you may find that one or two work best for you. So, if possible, practice all of them periodically to be familiar with all of them. You can practice any of these stress management techniques as a part of your regular asana practice or alone, at a different time of day.
Better Sleep
To help you stay healthy and keep your immune system functioning optimally, you need a good night’s sleep. Yoga can be really helpful for improving sleep
Healthy Habits
A healthy diet that provides good nutrition is necessary for a strong immune system, so if you’re struggling with unhealthy eating habits, using yoga to support healthy eating habits will help your immune system function optimally.
Addiction to unhealthy substances such as cigarettes, drugs, or too much alcohol can weaken your immune system by damaging cells, suppressing immune function and causing inflammation. You can use yoga’s mindfulness techniques to assist in changing harmful habits. You can find podcast on how to meditate, which can help improve awareness of thought patterns and strengthen will power.
Yoga for Cancer
How does yoga help relieve the suffering that cancer all too often brings with it? Gentle yoga poses for cancer patients can work magic on many levels.
1.Clearing out Toxins from Cancer Treatment
First of all, yoga used as therapy for cancer can help clear out toxins accrued during cancer treatment more effectively. Yoga asanas stimulate not just muscles, but also increases blood flow, balances the glands and enhances the lymphatic flow in the body, all of which enhances the body’s internal purification processes. The deep, relaxing breathing often emphasized in Yoga for Cancer therapy also increases the current of oxygen-rich blood to the cells, delivering vital nutrients to tired cells and further clearing out toxins.
2. Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Cancer Patients
In addition to removing toxins, yoga for cancer can help dissipate tension and anxiety and enable cancer patients to settle into a greater sense of ease and well-being. Stress depresses the body’s natural immune function, which may be one of the reasons that there is evidence that people who practice yoga for cancer have greater recovery rates.
3. Yoga as Exercise for Cancer Patients
Regular exercise also has been shown to stimulate the body’s natural anti-cancer defenses. However, few cancer patients or cancer survivors feel up to the task of engaging in a ‘regular’ exercise regimen. Many find that yoga as therapy for cancer provides an ideal, balanced form of whole-body exercise. It’s no wonder that more and more doctors have begun to recommend yoga as exercise for cancer patients and cancer survivors.
4. Yoga as Holistic Healing for Cancer Patients
For those enduring chemotherapy and radiation, yoga for cancer provides a means to strengthen the body, boost the immune system, and produce a much-sought-after feeling of well-being. For those recovering from surgery, such as that for breast cancer, yoga can help restore motion and flexibility in a gentle, balanced manner.
Yoga for cancer survivors and patients also provides an internal anchor of calm. Many practicing yoga therapy have discovered an interesting, subtle benefit, an increased awareness of a great, internal stillness and sense of unity. They’ve found, at the most fundamental level of their own consciousness, a sense of true health and vitality that spills over into other aspects of life.
How to boost your immune system
How do I boost my immune system? It is one of the most frequently asked questions at CANCER active. People who want to prevent disease know that a strong immune system will give them better protection. People who have an illness understand that their immune system has failed them and they want to rebuild it.
But there´s a third group of people. Those who have cancer and have taken the chemotherapy – they need a quick fix.
- EAT a high SOLUBLE FIBRE, high BIOACTIVE FOODS DIET
The University of Illinois Medical School has shown conclusively that a high intakesoluble fibre boosts the immune system.. Indeed, people with the highest intake of soluble fibre have the best immune systems – oats, nuts and seeds and pulses would be a start.
The rainbow Diet is the CANCER active diet of choice because there is so much quality and clear research to support it (See Here). It advocates eating whole foods with lots of natural fibre (think lentils, nuts, seeds, fresh vegetables), low but ´whole´ carbs, high good fat levels and serious amounts of foods with vibrant colours.
A growing number of research studies has now shown that the Rainbow Diet is actually a better diet for all manner of chronic diseases like heart, diabetes, stress reduction and cancer than that recommended by Health Authorities! Research even shows it will help you live longer!
It provides great levels of essential minerals (fundamental to controling your body´s alkalinity and pH) while giving the body bioactive natural compounds like phenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins and sulforaphanes. Garlic, selenium, fish oils, carotenoids, salvestrols like resveratrol, the dark red anthocyanins of beetroot and cherries are all important. There is plenty of reference to what is in the Corrective and Protective Rainbow Diet on this website. You can also look at our review on Epigenetics – See here – 60 or more natural compounds have corrective benefits in cancer.
Importantly, the diet also involves no ´empty´ sugar, processed or refined foods. There are two big benefits. Firstly, a glucose-rich food or meal temporarily flattens the immune system. Secondly, reducing glucose and High Fructose Corn Syrup consumption greatly, also reduces your insulin levels and thus inflammation in the body – really important when fighting cancer.
- CLEAN UP YOUR LIVER; lower your LDL
The liver is the largest organ in the body and is your organ of detoxification but few people understand it is crucial to your immune system. Furthermore, cancer cells produce lactate which poisons the liver resulting in fat building up in the liver and ´backwashing´ into the lymph and blood systems. People with the highest levels of LDL in their blood stream get more metastases and survive least. It is essential that you tackle this.
- HEAL Ur GUT
Have you ever known a small child who seemed to get a cold every week? It wasn´t a cold. They´d touched the cat, then put their fingers in their mouth. They´d put a new bacterium in their gut. Their white immune cells had come out to attack. The immune system had developed some new cell structures to deal with the invader. Your gut is responsible for 85 per cent of your immune system – and your immune memory, until you take drugs, Proton Pump Inhibitors and antibiotics. But you can also damage it with stress, smoking, pickles (vinegar) and alcohol and parasites, amongst other things.
Research has now shown your gut ´microbiome´ gets ill first, then you get ill. And you cannot get better until it gets better. But then it doesn´t just control your immune system; it MAKES certain compounds like short-chain esters which can reduce chronic inflammation throughout the body. Without them, your body takes another battering. It it is imperative that you give yourself a HUG –
- TAKE SUPPLEMENTS
- So they are the long-term fixes. What can you do in the short-term?
You have approximately 20 different types of white cell. You are unlikely to boost all the different types with just one supplement. We suggest a spectrum – for example, curcumin, grape seed extract/pine bark extract, herbs such as echinacea or astragalus or cat´s claw, beta-glucans, and melatonin. That should cover pretty well everything.
Curcumin – take with olive oil and black pepper (piperine) – is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune booster of some note.
Melatonin is the largest antioxidant we make as animals and is very calming. It´s why sleep is so healing.
Beta-glucans – naturally occurring polysaccharides from pathogenic bacteria and fungi (like ´medicinal´ mushrooms´). They have a strong effect on the immune system (1) by causing a positive reaction, and enhancing natural killer and macrophage action. You can eat mushrooms, and buy extracts. Immiflex, PSP and PSK are the ´in´ ones at the moment.
There are other ´polysaccharide´ immune boosters – like extracts from seaweed, and the Chinese herb astragalus.
And astragalus has a double benefit – it boosts the immune system and helps the white cells see the bad guys. On the subject of herbs, you could consider echinacea and cat´s claw.
Vitamin E (all 8 forms) is good, as is vitamin A.
We prefer natural chlorella, to vitamin A as it lets your body make the amount of A it needs. Then there´s vitamin C, but this is poorly absorbed if consumed in pill or powder form (more expensive, but better is liposomal vitamin C.
Finally, there is MGN-3 Biobran, which has a great deal of research to support it. It is expensive and total white cell count goes impressively high. But I´d like to see more information on the width of the white cells enhanced.
. ACTIVATE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH VITAMIN D
It seems that boosting the volume of the white cells AND getting them to recognise a rogue cell still isn´t enough. 2011 research showed that the first thing your T-cells do before they attack a rogue cell is pick up a vitamin D molecule to ´activate´ themselves. Without the vitamin D, they cannot attack. This is one reason why vitamin D is so important. If you cannot get 2 to 4 hours in the sunshine a day, take Boston Medical School´s recommendation. Supplement with 5,000IUs a day.
Vitamin K plays some part in this binding process but this is not perfectly clear as yet.
So, Vitamin D is crucial to a strong immune system. It is important to note however that taking Drugs greatly reduce your Vitamin D level and so you should increase you intake of sunshine or supplement.
- CUT OUT TRANS FATS AND GLUCOSE FROM YOUR DIET
I have told you that cholesterol and fat can ´clog up´ (it´s a biochemical term!) your liver, pancreas and lymph. Trans fats are the worst – they come on fast food and junk food, and also in some packaged foods and processed foods. But saturated fats are not helpful either, causing not just a build up of fat in your liver and lymph, they are the building blocks for certain hormones like oestrogen.
Sugar (glucose and high fructose corn syrup) is awful. 2015 research in the American Journal of Public Health showed that a daily glucose rich fizzy soft drink damages your immune system AS MUCH AS SMOKING!!
People reach for a fruit smoothie on their supermarket shelf and do not realise how the glucose ´hit´ hammers their immune system about 30 minutes after drinking it. Cut out all added glucose (and HFCS) from your life (Fizzy soft drinks, puddings, ice cream, chocolate cake, smoothies and bought fruit juice, biscuits, refined foods, refined honey etc).
Sugar damages your immune system and cancer cells love it. People with the highest levels of blood glucose develop more cancers and survive least. Glucose has even been shown to cause cancer.
- HAVE UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP IN A DARKENED, EMF-free ROOM
Always sleep in a fully darkened room with no EMFs around you – Elctromagnetic Fields include WiFi, computers, cell phones, masts and aerials and more. About 1 hour after you fall asleep your pineal gland makes Melatonin and it pushes you into a deeper sleep. People who have disturbed sleep develop more hormonally-driven cancers.
What few people seem to know is that melatonin is the biggest antioxidant we animals make. It is also anti-inflammatory and why sleep is so healing. It also regulates oestrogen and growth hormone in the body. We make less and less of it as we pass the age of 50 years.
You can supplement about 30 minutes before going to bed. It is thought that supplements above 10 mgs can cause hallucinations but there is clear research on the benefits of 20 mg supplements of melatonin to fight cancer. You will have to buy it on-line. Available in supermarkets in the USA, you can only obtain it on prescription in Europe.
- LAUGH, BE HAPPY
Remember what you enjoyed doing a decade ago? Playing Tennis, watching comedy shows? People who laugh a lot have stronger immune systems; so go and buy some old funny videos. People who have good sex lives have stronger immune systems – no comment. People who meditate have stronger immune systems – find a meditation class to go with the yoga. UCLA have produced several studies showing those who meditate survive significantly longer! People who and in awe of a wonderful view – they have a boost in their immune system too.
Be Happy – Conversely, cut out the things (and people) who make you feel inadequate, worthless, guilty, cause you stress.
- AVOID ´CHEMICALS OF CONCERN´
Go toxin-free. A UK Royal Commission stated that there were over 4,000 chemicals in common use in your own homes, two-thirds were probably toxic and one-third probably carcinogenic. The EuroMPs voted to ban over 1,000 chemicals of concern in 2005. Nothing happened. The average woman comes in to contact with approximately 680 ´chemicals of concern´ in her own home every month. These chemicals damage your immune system and worse.
It is not hard to go ´Toxin-free´.
- DON´T SMOKE
Hardly a surprise really. The main reason is that it reduces blood oxygen levels, increases the acidity in the blood and the gut. The first directly down-grades the immune system; the second stops your commensal gut bacteria doing their immune boosting job.
- DON´T DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL
Latest Government advice is for a maximum of 15 units a week. Alcohol reduces your magnesium and B vitamin levels, poisons your liver and depresses the immune system.
